White Bear Rising

White Bear Rising Supporting reconciliation and respectful engagement on Indigenous territories.

White Bear Rising is an Indigenous-led initiative that offers trauma-informed workshops and cultural training, rooted in Indigenous worldviews and land-based teachings.

Today, I had the honour of providing cultural awareness training for an organization that does so much for our community...
09/04/2026

Today, I had the honour of providing cultural awareness training for an organization that does so much for our community. It is a privilege and a responsibility that I never take lightly.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I speak and teach from a place of lived experience and cultural knowing.

I was raised on the land by hunters and trappers. I grew up on reserve and experienced oppression, hardship and discrimination firsthand. Those experiences shaped and moulded me—but they also helped me grow, learn and understand the importance of creating change.

For me, cultural awareness is never about blame. It is about building understanding, recognizing the beauty and humanity within all people, and committing ourselves to lifelong learning.

We must remain humble enough to listen and courageous enough to grow—because when we are no longer teachable, our ego becomes the very thing standing in the way of understanding. 🪶

From one Rez kid to another, let’s talk about recovery and healing. 🪶Not everyone will understand the struggles we come ...
09/04/2026

From one Rez kid to another, let’s talk about recovery and healing. 🪶

Not everyone will understand the struggles we come from: the intergenerational trauma, addiction, violence, poverty, grief, loss and the ways we learned to survive before we ever learned how to live.

But for those who are looking for some truth for someone willing to be real I will continue to share my story openly, vulnerably and unapologetically.

I don’t share because I have it all figured out. I share because I know what it feels like to believe there is no way out. I also know what it means to fight for your life, reconnect with Creator, return to ceremony and slowly become the person you were always meant to be.

Recovery is not always pretty. Healing is not a straight road. Some days, it is simply choosing not to give up.

I share my truth so another Rez kid might recognize themselves in my story and realize they are not alone, they are not broken and their past does not have to decide their future.

If I can rise, you can rise too. ❤️‍🩹🪶

Now booking for the winter/spring ❤️🙏

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09/02/2026

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08/28/2026

As I prepare for the last memorial Round Dance for my daughter, I find myself moving through so many emotions.

Grief. Gratitude. Sadness. Love. Pride. Peace.

There are moments when it still feels incredibly heavy, and then there are moments when I look around and realize just how much healing has taken place, not only within me, but within my family.

I have learned that healing does not mean we stop missing the people we love. It means we learn how to carry them differently. We carry them through our stories, our prayers, our ceremonies, our families, and through the way we choose to live our lives.

Our ancestors knew how to heal. They left us the tools, the ceremonies, the traditions, the medicines, the land, the songs, the teachings, and one another.

I truly believe that reconnecting to those ways is part of what will heal us as families, as communities, and as a Nation.

When I look at where my life has taken me today, I am incredibly grateful. I also know I cannot take all the credit for where I find myself. There are places I never planned to go, people I never imagined I would meet, and work I never imagined I would be doing.

I believe the Creator places me where I am meant to be.

I am divinely guided by spirit, by my ancestors, and by the love I continue to carry for my daughter.

What began as unimaginable grief has slowly become a life of purpose, service, connection, and healing.

And when I am called upon to be of service, that is exactly what I will do.

With humility. With gratitude. And always, with love. ❤️

08/21/2026

Working from ego causes harm—whether someone is an Elder, an older community member, a lodge keeper, healer, or helper.

These roles carry influence and sacred responsibility. People often come to them while grieving, struggling, seeking ceremony, or feeling vulnerable. That trust must never be taken lightly.

When a person seeking help is met with humiliation, harsh criticism, judgment, manipulation, gossip, or control instead of kindness and understanding, the trusted person is no longer helping—they are misusing their position and causing harm.

Knowledge, age, ceremony, and titles do not excuse abusive behaviour. No role places someone above accountability.

True helpers do not use their position to feed their ego, silence others, or make vulnerable people feel small. They guide without controlling, correct without humiliating, and support healing without demanding power over others.

Respecting our Elders and ceremonial roles does not mean remaining silent about harm. Protecting vulnerable people is not disrespect—it is our responsibility.

I am only the second generation removed from the full impact of colonization—and the first generation in my family expec...
08/18/2026

I am only the second generation removed from the full impact of colonization—and the first generation in my family expected to live almost entirely within Western society.

I was raised between two worlds.

I carry the teachings, strength, and resilience of my ancestors while learning to navigate Western education, employment, healthcare, laws, and systems that were never created with Indigenous people in mind.

My family’s connection to the land, language, ceremony, and traditional ways of living is not ancient history. The disruption happened within living memory. I grew up close enough to hear the stories, feel the losses, and witness the effects—yet far enough removed that I have had to intentionally reclaim parts of who I am.

Sometimes it feels like being expected to succeed in one world while grieving what was taken from the other. But I am not caught between two worlds—I am learning to walk powerfully in both.

When people wonder who I am or where my knowledge comes from, the answer is simple: I’m a girl from the rez who has navigated loss, addiction, trauma, parenting, growth, healing, and recovery. My knowledge comes from Western education, cultural teachings, and lived experience.

Lateral violence can appear when competition replaces collaboration, often rooted in generations of scarcity, exclusion, and colonization. It can weaken trust, relationships, and our ability to move forward together.

There is room for all of us. When we share opportunities, honour one another’s gifts, and work together, we strengthen our communities.

Healing, learning our history, returning to the land, and reclaiming ceremony are not steps backward. Healing also means recognizing harmful patterns with compassion and choosing collaboration, connection, and collective growth.

This is how we remember who we have always been—and create a stronger path for those coming after us. 🪶

My workshops aren’t about fixing people because I don’t believe our people are broken.They are about helping people see ...
08/13/2026

My workshops aren’t about fixing people because I don’t believe our people are broken.

They are about helping people see what I see when I look at us as Nehiyowak: the beauty, the strength, the resilience, and the fire that has always lived within us. 🔥

Our people have survived generations of systems that tried to disconnect us from our culture, our language, our ceremonies, our families, and even from ourselves—and still, we are here.

That strength didn’t disappear. Sometimes it just needs space to be remembered.

Through storytelling, culture, connection, ceremony, and honest conversations about grief and trauma, my workshops focus on what we carry—not only our pain, but our strength, knowledge, humour, love, teachings, and resilience.

Healing isn’t about becoming someone new. Sometimes it’s about remembering who we have always been.

Strong. Resilient. Connected. Nehiyowak.

The fire is already within us. My hope is simply to help people see it again. 🪶🔥

White Bear Rising — building from our strengths, honouring where we come from, and creating space for our people to rise.

My work is still not done, yesterday we spent the day unloading and unpacking! I have to thank my children for all there...
08/11/2026

My work is still not done, yesterday we spent the day unloading and unpacking! I have to thank my children for all there help and patience leading up to and the aftermath of the camp! They put so much into this camp also, quietly and consistently! There is so much work that goes into these things. All the hard work, before, during and after is so very worth it! Especially after hearing all the positive feedback. Seeing all the grateful posts and beautiful pictures! It was worth every second of everything I put into it! We had our hiccups, things that could be improved..but overall….healing happened, connection, the love was felt, people were happy! So for that I am grateful! I love you all! I hope you all love yourselves also and remember how beautiful you are! 💙🙏

What a beautiful week. 💙🌿A week filled with love, healing, culture, laughter, tears, ceremony and connection on the land...
08/10/2026

What a beautiful week. 💙🌿

A week filled with love, healing, culture, laughter, tears, ceremony and connection on the land.

There were moments this week that are hard to put into words. People came together as there authentic selves, We shared stories, sat around the fire, learned from one another, laughed together, cried together, prayed together and made space for healing.

I watched children and youth experience culture and learn from those around them. I watched people find the courage to share pieces of their stories. I watched families reconnect, new relationships form, and people simply slow down long enough to be present with one another.

And through all of it, the land held us. 🌿

This week reminded me why spaces like this are so important. Healing doesn’t always happen inside four walls. Sometimes it happens sitting around a fire. Sometimes through ceremony. Sometimes through laughter, a shared meal, a teaching, a conversation, or simply knowing you are surrounded by people who care.

My heart is incredibly full.

A HUGE and heartfelt thank you to our sponsors and partners who believed in the vision and helped make this week possible:

💙 Treaty 8 Urban Child and Family Services
💙 Indian Reconciliation Fund
💙 MD of Opportunity No. 17
💙 Bigstone Cree Nation
💙 Nepinese Family Healing Centre
💙 Superior Propane

Your support helped create a space where our people and families could come together on the land to reconnect with culture, ceremony, community and one another. This kind of work takes a community, and we are incredibly grateful that you chose to be part of ours.

To every Elder, Knowledge Keeper, facilitator, oskapyew, volunteer, cook, helper, supporter and every person who came through our camp, thank you. Every one of you brought something important to this gathering.

What we created together was bigger than any one person or organization. It was community. It was connection. It was healing. It was remembering that we are all related, Wahkomaganuk. (All my relations)

There is still so much healing needed in our communities, but after a week like this, I am reminded that there is also so much love, strength, resilience and hope.

May we carry a little piece of what we experienced on the land home with us and continue taking care of one another long after the fires have gone out. 🪶🔥🌿

Until we gather again. 💙

Address

Fort McMurray, AB
T9H3R4

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15879411663

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